Board of Trustees Members

Born in Fufore, Ribadu District of Adamawa State, March 15, 1961, Abubakar Bobboyi Jijiwa, MFR, Sardauna Ribadu, graduated from the University of Maiduguri in 1983 with B. Sc. (Hons) Accountancy. He had earlier attended Fufore Central Primary School (1967-1972) and Gen. Murtala Mohammed College, Yola (1973-1977). He attended several post-graduate courses in Nigeria and abroad including Deutsche Welle Academy, Cologne, Germany 1990 and 1994; Thames Valley University (TVU) Slough, London (2001); State Administration for Radio, Film and Television Training (SARFT) Centre, Beijing, China 2009, European Television and Media Academy (ETMA), Strasbourg, France, 2011, etc.

After his NYSC at the Nigeria Mining Corporation in Jos, Plateau State, Jijiwa served in the Print Media at the New Nigeria Sunday Edition as Staff Correspondent, Member of Editorial Board and Weekly Columnist between 1984-1986.

He was later made the Credit Controller and Principal Accountant at the New Nigeria before he joined the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in 1988 as Head of Accounts Department at age 27.

In 1993, Abubkar B. Jijiwa, MFR was appointed Director of Finance and Supplies at the Voice of Nigeria (VON), redesigned Director of Administration and Finance in 1999. He was made Ag. Director-General in 2004 and later confirmed substantive Director-General, Voice of Nigeria in 2005 at age 44 after coming tops in a local and international recruitment exercise conducted by the Consulting Firm, KPMG in which 106 other candidates also applied. He served his two tenures of DG, VON, which ended in March 2015. During his tenure, he also served as Chairman, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) (2004; elected President, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA), London (2006-2010); Member of Executive Committee, Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM); Member, Executive Committee and Jurist at the Association of International Broadcasting, London, Founding Signatory, African Broadcast Media Partnership (ABMP) on HIV/AIDS, San Francisco, USA, 2005, etc.

At VON, he built from the scratch the iconic, fully-digitalised VON Transmitting Station at Lugbe, the latest in Africa and established a spirit of camaraderie and “VON Family” among the staff, and had commenced the skeletal construction of the VON Permanent Broadcasting House Complex before his exit. As CEO of Gongola, later Adamawa Broadcasting Corporation, Yola, he set up the first FM Station in the North East Sub-Region and also built the Permanent Broadcasting House Complex from where the Organisation still operates. The Gembu Station on the Mambilla Plateau now in Taraba State was also designed, constructed and equipped during his tenureship.

Jijiwa also held other political appointments: He was Secretary and Administrator of Fufore Local Government Area, Adamawa State 1986-1987 at age 25; Adamawa State Hon. Commissioner of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning at age 34, 1995-1999; Member, National Conference, representing Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) 2014; and a recipient of the National Honour of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) 2010, which was based on the nomination of Radio, Television and Theatre Workers Union (RATTAWU).

Jijiwa has traversed the entire media landscape in various capacities – broadcasting, print and News Agency Media. He has also served the nation in all 3 tiers of government – Local, State and Federal.